Chapter 10
Glitch spent the following days brainstorming his next course of actions: how he would get out of jail, and what to do once he did. As much as he disliked the cell—with its tiny four walls, rickety old charging bed, and dirty toilet—he had to admit that the solitude it provided was a great vessel for thought. He was surprised at how much time he was able to dedicate solely to thinking. The Droid soldiers that guarded the outside of his cell, no matter how closely they kept tabs on him, were unaware of all the ideas he had in store. All he needed to do was wait until the next visiting day, when Shooter could come back. Glitch hoped by then he would've managed to gain access to Droid Town's surveillance system, primarily the footage of the gateway's sector.
Between that point and the present, Glitch maintained a low profile in his cell. He took advantage of the time he was bequeathed to devise his plans. What he didn't enjoy, though, was how he often lost concept of time itself. The cell had no windows looking to the outside. As a result, Glitch found himself wondering what time of day it was all too frequently. He was let out to wash and detail himself, and that was all. It would've actually been a great relief to lay his eyes on something other than cement tiles and steel beams, but then he remembered where he was, and why.
The very reality of being in jail was sometimes enough to discourage Glitch a little. It was mainly because of how he ended up in the current situation. Not just because of Dr. Exavolt's framing him—but everything from the beginning. Receiving visions from a Morbot. Learning about Morbite. Discovering Exavolt's plans of immortality and world domination. Going AWOL. His first time meeting a female Droid, only to discover that she, too, was connected to the Morbots. (What was she up to these days, anyway?) The destruction of the Morbots' astral realm, and losing Void for the time being. Being tricked into destroying Droid Town's only access to the Morbot region. Having to live a lie for the next month to avoid disappointing his colonel, more than he had already disappointed himself.
Had he missed anything?
Glitch went back over every other detail before the last. None of them hurt more. None of them came close to affecting him as strongly as his now-fragmented relationship with Colonel Alloy. He'd lost his trust. But then he gained it back, even if it was at a terrible time.
And then…he lost it again.
Glitch kept his head down, eyes planted on the floor as he wrestled the torrent of conflicting emotions thrashing about within him. He couldn't understand why his relationship with the Colonel was so much more complicated than it should have been. Soldier and commander. That's what they were supposed to be. It was much simpler nearly three months before. The Colonel would give him orders, navigate him through parts of his mission where needed, praise him when he succeeded, discipline him when he failed.
That was all it was.
A soldier taking orders from his colonel.
But then it changed. Glitch's mind travelled back to the Colonel bestowing the RAT upon him as a gift, courtesy of Krunk. The story shared with him about the Medal of Honor in his office, about his former colonel Epsilon. Glitch thought of the picture of Alloy standing with Epsilon and the medal. They were close. They respected, valued each other beyond their disciplines.
Glitch silently sat in his cell. He was the young Alloy. And Alloy was Epsilon.
Like soldier, like commander.
He lifted his head. He didn't at all expect it to make him emotional. It was probably the first time he could feel something dripping from his eyes. He collected the liquid on his finger. Oil? he wondered. The closest he came to this state was after the Droid Rebellion had been attacked. He mistook the stinging sensation for the effect from the fire's smoke.
Robots crying. How ridiculous.
What was even the point? Glitch hoped it was a fault in his programming, or at the very most, a rare anomaly in Droid blueprinting. Either way, it was stupid.
Was it stupid?
What if the Colonel saw him doing it? The question arose in Glitch's mind and he quickly tried wiping the tears away. His very first mission came rushing back to him. He remembered Hosed and Screwed, two of the first Droids he ever met—and their deaths. He had to watch them get blown to pieces. "No time for tears. You're on your own for now." Colonel Alloy's sharp voice practically pierced his audio plate through the radio transmission. Tears didn't come easily for Glitch then. They didn't come at all. Why did they now? Had he gone soft? Was he not as tough as he used to be? He was a soldier, there was no room in his life for this. The Colonel would tell him the same thing, surely.
"Hey, you! You there!"
Glitch's thoughts were brought to a standstill once he heard the voice calling to him from outside the cell door. It must have been another guard. It didn't sound like the first Droid grunt that was supposed to be watching him. Glitch figured it was a friend of his who decided to join him outside the door.
"Ugh, is he still alive in there?" The same voice rang out again. "And that's supposed to be the guy? The great Iron Star Gunslinger?"
"Who the heck calls 'em that?" The Droid originally assigned to guard Glitch's cell spoke finally.
"Eh, nobody really," his fellow guard friend replied. "I just heard somebody else call him that once. It kinda sticks, to be honest."
Glitch listened in. He only heard one other Droid give him that name once.
"Who was it, uhh…" The Droid grunt's voice trailed slightly as he pondered. "Oh, yeah!" He eventually remembered. "Vex!" he exclaimed. "Yeah, Vex, he was the one."
"Oh, ain't he the guy that used to bomb Droids for the Mils?" Glitch's guard asked, audibly surprised by the connection. "That's kinda cool, low-key."
Glitch grimaced in disgust while crouched on the other side of the cell door. How many other sicko Droid grunts worked at this jailhouse? Did the Rebellion reserve this place for unfit soldiers?
"Yeah, it is!" the friend answered, agreeing with the first guard's opinion, shockingly enough. "He talked all about it during the first group therapy session, remember?"
"Pssh, I don't pay attention to half that crap."
"You don't? But I thought that was part of your community service. I'm surprised the Colonel didn't get rid of you after you sold off those codes. You're lucky you didn't get the boot permanently."
Glitch's guard gave a scoffing sound. "Whatever," he said dismissively. "At least I got put out here. This is the easiest job I done had in a hot minute. Beats that backbreakin' work at the Rebellion."
"So anyway, about that Vex guy," the second guard carried on. "He's been acting a little funny lately. After the last group session, I asked if he wanted to hang out with me at that new joint. You know, that new place?"
"Yeah, yeah."
"Ok. Well, check this out! He said he had a drag race to get to. You know the ones they hold at Rebar Canyon. And you know the joint we go to is headed out that way, right?"
"Yeah."
"I happened to end up behind him and some guys he was carpooling with on my way to the joint. They didn't go toward the Canyon. They turned off somewhere else."
The first guard shrugged. "So?" he said. "Maybe they decided to go someplace else."
"It was 'someplace else,' alright," said the second guard. "I think he's up to something funky, I'm telling you. He's done this now for the past few months. He'll lie and say he's off to some drag race, and then he'll go down that same detour, with the same exact group of guys. He don't go to no drag races, I can tell you that much."
The revelations were shattering for Glitch. He recalled Shooter telling him what Vex had supposedly been up to since they last spoke. Vex went out of town for a drag race. It was something Vex supposedly did on a fairly regular basis. To think that it was merely a coverup for something else he was doing…
Glitch moved away from the door slightly. What have you been up to, Vex? Maybe he was jumping to conclusions, and so was the guard. But no matter how Glitch tried to slice it, he couldn't help but agree with the guard's sentiments. It was incredibly suspicious. Vex was usually an open book. What did he have to hide?
"Oh, shoot!"
Glitch looked up again. The guard that spoke about Vex suddenly sounded anxious. Glitch could hear him begin to shuffle around outside the cell door, as if he was trying to get up quickly.
"Oh, dang, man, you do need to go," Glitch's first guard pushed. "C'mon, get it in gear, hurry up and go! He's coming!"
Glitch could soon hear light, rushed footsteps as the second Droid grunt left his cell door, presumably returning to his own post. Only moments later, the sound of clanking feet was replaced by a single tire rolling along the floor. It grew closer as the robot approached the cell. Glitch's core skipped. It had to be who he thought it was, no doubt.
Glitch's guard briefly peeked through the door's bars. He sported a snide look in his eye. "Looks like your verdict's comin', Gunslinger."
The nickname was mockingly delivered. Glitch had moved back to the corner to appear natural. Though it annoyed him, he ignored the guard's remark. He was just a young, motormouthed grunt that couldn't stay out of trouble.
Outside the door, Colonel Alloy began to firmly address the young guard. "Duke, what do you think you're doing?" he demanded. "Was that Nuke over here with you just now?"
Glitch chuckled. Duke and Nuke. Their names unironically worked well together.
Duke folded his arms and rolled his eyes on the other side. "Yeah, so?" he spat. "It gets borin' over here, I gotta have some kinda company. You got a problem with that, Chief? Screw you."
"Don't you take that kind of tone with me, you rusty little sh*!" Colonel Alloy immediately became cross. His disciplinary side had returned. He menacingly grabbed Duke by the collar. "One more word outta you like that and I'll make sure you'll be somewhere you really won't like," he barked. "And you address me as Colonel. Do I make myself clear, soldier?"
Duke swiftly nodded his head up and down, visibly unsettled by the threat. "Yeah, sure, whatever," he quaked.
"What was that?" the Colonel snapped.
"Erm, sir, yes, sir." Duke hurriedly corrected himself.
Colonel Alloy let him go. Duke withdrew a step and brushed himself off. Alloy's strict stare continued burning into him. It was a look capable of searing through any type of metal. "Maybe I should've given you the boot," he muttered. "You're a young little punk. You can't keep your mouth shut. I don't know what I was thinkin', lettin' you off so easy after you gave away them codes. You're lucky they were just game codes."
Glitch's jaw dropped a little. Game codes?!
"You know unauthorized trades of any kind are strictly prohibited on Droid Rebellion premises," Colonel Alloy chastised. "It doesn't matter what it is. We can't take any risks. I hope you've learned your lesson."
Duke sighed. "Yes, sir," he mumbled.
"Now that that's out the way, step aside for a minute." The Colonel brushed past Duke to reach the cell door.
Glitch was sitting on the edge of his charging bed in the opposite corner now, pretending he hadn't been listening. He looked up to see Colonel Alloy's pale optics beaming through the bars. Glitch slowly made his way over and stopped on the other side, shackles clinking. There was silence between them for a short while. This was the first time Glitch had seen the Colonel since the interrogation almost two weeks ago. They quietly eyed each other for some time. They were merely inches apart, separated only by the bars.
"You can't keep me here forever." Glitch spoke first.
"I understand that." Alloy's tone was low and curt.
Their eyes remained locked. Glitch refused to waver. "So how long am I gonna be here, exactly?" he asked. "Until, what, you think I'm ready for a change of scenery? I could really use that, actually!"
"You're being held until your hearing date," Colonel Alloy said. "That's gonna be this Friday. If you can provide evidence before the Droid Rebellion's legal committee showing you're innocent, you'll be let off the hook. That's what we've decided."
"I got my evidence on the way," Glitch stated.
"Good!" Alloy placed his hands behind his back, nodding. "We'll see how it goes!"
Glitch gently shook his head on the other side of the bars. "You really think I'm guilty," he said quietly. "Don't you?"
He dreaded the answer, but he couldn't help but ask. He studied Colonel Alloy's face. Something in it had changed, though only for a second, it seemed. It was a conflicting emotion, one that failed to hide behind his shifting eyes, threatening to betray his outer convictions. Glitch saw it. He wasn't going to admit it, but it was there inside of him just the same. Deep down, he knew. He knew Glitch was innocent.
"What's stopping you?"
The Colonel locked eyes with him again, his expression now no different than before: hardened and calculating. "What do you mean, Glitch?"
"Oh, I think you know," Glitch said, with a brow challengingly raised. "But I'll say it anyway. What's stopping you from letting me go?"
The Colonel sighed. "Look, I don't know what really happened, Glitch," he admitted. "All I know is what's been brought to me, and that was the material I showed you from across the table in that room."
"Exavolt altered the footage, for cryin' out loud!" Glitch persisted. "I know he did!"
"You're going to have to do more than just 'know.'" Alloy was stoic. "You're going to have to prove it. You're going to have to prove your actions that night weren't premeditated, and that you weren't motivated by Dr. Exavolt. Do that at the hearing Friday."
"I will." Glitch stood firm, clutching the door's metal bars.
The Colonel said nothing more. He departed down the hall the way he came, leaving Glitch in his jail cell. He returned to his charging bed and collapsed onto it facedown with a loud huff. "Come on, Shooter," he mumbled. "You got this." It was Monday. He had four days left to collect evidence. Visiting hours were tomorrow. Tuesday. He hoped with every inch of his framework that Shooter was able to get his hands on the surveillance footage.
...
"You couldn't get it?"
Shooter showed up during visiting hours the next day, seemingly empty-handed. He sadly looked at Glitch through the glass with the phone up to his auditory sensor. "No, Glitch, I was able to," he said. "I have it, but…"
"But what?" Glitch asked, confused. "It's fine, you can let me see it."
Shooter sifted through his knapsack. He pulled out some documents and reluctantly placed the small stack up against the glass with the contents facing Glitch. They were photos of the footage from the gateway's sector that night. Shooter was able to get it after all. He went through the images one by one for Glitch, giving him time to thoroughly view each of them. Glitch looked up at Shooter once he'd seen them all, appearing even more lost. "I don't understand."
Shooter explained: "I got them from the digital archive center. They let me have access to it from a computer. The footage was all the same, Glitch. The Droid at the front happened to be a fellow coder. He helped me go through it, and there was nothing different. The footage hadn't been manipulated."
"Not with normal Droid technology, that is," Glitch pointed out. "Dr. Exavolt must've been able to bypass the system with his powers or whatever. The Morbite must give him the ability to."
Shooter quietly looked down. He was just as disappointed, if not more. "I'm sorry," he murmured. "I thought I could be of better help."
"Oh, no, Shooter, don't feel bad, man." Glitch tried to cheer him up. "You did what you could."
"What are you gonna tell them at the hearing?" Shooter asked.
"I'm not gonna tell them anything." Glitch's face darkened a little. "'Cause I ain't finna be there, for one."
"Huh?" Shooter blinked confusedly. "What do you mean?"
"I'm bustin' out," Glitch told him.
"Aw, no, Glitch…" Shooter shook his head, rejecting the idea. "You're gonna get in more trouble!" he projected.
Glitch chuckled. He knew Shooter wouldn't like it. It was far from his style. "Well, what am I supposed to do, go to prison? While Iron Star needs saving again?" he joked.
"Glitch…" Shooter was adamant, and desperate. He gave it a bit of thought, then let out another sigh. "Maybe you're right," he ceded. "I guess there is no other way. But please, be careful."
...
There were three days left. Tuesday. Glitch went back to his jail cell, down but not out. Plan A didn't work, so it was time for Plan B.
From that point forward, he dedicated his focus to escaping. From the moment he was placed back into the cell, he studied the habits of the guards closely. They were apt to goofing around, a lot. They hardly took their jobs seriously, leaving their posts when they shouldn't, making fun of each other, and spreading gossip. One even pulled the fire alarm after being dared to. It was Duke. Once he did it, a fire drill took place. Everyone was filed outside behind the jail building. There were a few guards present to keep tabs on the prisoners, but not very many. The drill would make a promising distraction if Glitch could utilize it effectively. He took note of a dirt path leading away from the building. A possible escape route. He felt his confidence in the plan rising as he returned to his cell.
Nuke would often visit Duke's post and stick around. He and Nuke were always coming up with different things to pull off and get away with around the jailhouse. The young Droid grunt ended his shift right before midnight, to be replaced by another guard immediately after. Glitch was going to need Duke. He proved useful. He was hotheaded, rebellious, and clearly impressionable. Glitch had gathered this already based on what the grunt thought of Vex's POW missions. All he had to do was get Duke to comply with what he needed him to do.
The guard replacing Duke for the night began dosing off almost right after he started keeping watch. Glitch saw him fall asleep in his chair. The guard had been reprimanded for smoking shortly before his shift started, so Glitch was sure he kept a lighter on him. He peeked through the cell door's bars, studying him over while he slept soundly in the chair. He found it. Glitch detached his antenna from his backpack to use as his grabbing tool. He carefully moved it between the bars, using both hands. After some toggling, he managed to get the end of his antenna through the loop on the guard's lighter. Glitch pulled it off of him, ever so gently, and reeled it inside the cell. Bingo.
Two days left. Wednesday. Glitch had a feeling he was going to need protection. His weapons had been commandeered. On his way to his routine detailing that morning, he told the guard escorting him he needed to take a leak. There was a small restroom down the hall from the wash area. The guard walked him there and waited for him outside the door. Before leaving his cell, Glitch had managed to pull a rusting piece of metal from underneath his rickety, old bed. It was dulling but would still be able to get the job done. He used the lighter he stole off the last guard to heat up one end, then sharpened it while it was still hot. He managed to successfully forge the metal shard into a shiv. It would never come down to that, hopefully. He came out of the bathroom with the makeshift weapon tucked out of sight.
During his detailing, Glitch studied what he used. A cloth. A buffer. A file. The hygiene tools would prove useful. He stowed them in his backpack.
One day left. Thursday. The last thing Glitch needed ended up being a little unorthodox. He saved some of his oil from a piss. It would come in handy for a Molotov. I hope I never have to do this again, he thought contemptuously. He kept this hidden with the cloth from his wash, as well as an old glass bottle he found.
Glitch had everything planned to a tee. Every detail of his escape was programmed deeply into his CPU. He practiced everything in his head as many times as he could: the timing, the routes, and every step in between. This needed to play out perfectly. With luck, it was going to. Colonel Alloy paid his jail cell a visit sometime in the afternoon.
"Ready for 7 o'clock tomorrow night?" The time of the hearing.
Glitch shrugged. "Yeah," he answered. He played it cool. He was ready for something else. More than ready.
The Colonel nodded. "Good," he said. "Good."
"How's everything been going these days, Colonel?" Glitch conversed with him steadily, testing him.
"The power grid's started acting up again." Colonel Alloy seemed to pick up on Glitch's challenging undertones. He had a slight grin as he spoke. "There was an outage in town last night."
"Exavolt's out there." Glitch stared the Colonel straight in the eye. "He's taken over the Morbots, he's resurrected the Mils…gettin' ready to take the planet over next. How's it feel knowin' you got the wrong Droid behind bars, huh?"
Colonel Alloy kept his mouth shut.
"Sleep good at night?" Glitch probed deeper. "Nothin' on your conscience keepin' you awake?" He dramatically placed both hands up to his face. "'Golly-gee! What if Glitch is telling the truth? What if he didn't destroy the gateway on purpose? What if he really was tricked? Oh, woe is me, I'm Colonel Alloy and I'll fall for anything!'" He made a series of fake crying noises, mocking him further.
Colonel Alloy left without another word. Glitch followed him with his blue optics until he disappeared around the corner at the end of the corridor.
Zero days left. Friday.
Glitch went about the first half of the day as usual. Between planning, he'd gotten some workouts in. He was already in as much shape as a Droid soldier could be, but he couldn't be too prepared. He treated his Friday morning and afternoon just the same as the previous days. Duke, Nuke, and some of the other Droid grunts on patrol noticed. They crowded around his jail cell to watch.
"What the heck's he doin' that for?" one of them questioned.
"I dunno," answered another. "But I'm jealous. Wish I could lift a bed up and down with my legs like that."
"Did you see him bench pressing earlier?" a third one piped up. "Like yo, whose mans is this?"
"He's Glitch!" Nuke exclaimed. "Iron Star's Gunslinger!"
Duke rolled his eyes at them all, keeping quiet.
Glitch moved on to pushups. He did them with both arms, then just one, with the other behind his back. The Droid grunts made impressed noises on the other side of the cell door. A higher-ranking guard saw them crowded around and ordered them back to their posts. When he looked through the door's bars to see what they were so drawn to, Glitch was "whizzing." He looked at the guard over his shoulder, feigning innocence. "Yeah?" he said.
The guard quickly backed off after seeing him standing over the toilet. "Uh, er, nothing," he awkwardly replied. He briskly moved on. "What sick minds these youngsters have," he muttered to himself.
...
Evening arrived. He was ready.
Glitch prepped himself for the actual escape. He sawed his shackles open with the file he saved. You'd think this was already prison with these, he thought. Either way, they were coming undone. He would need to be able to run. He couldn't have them slowing him down. Once Glitch got them off, he wrapped them around his legs again to make it seem like they were still on.
Glitch's hearing was at least a few hours away. He didn't have access to a clock, so he asked Duke for the exact time when he came back to his post after a restroom break.
"Psst, hey. You know what time it is?"
Duke rolled his eyes. "5:40," he scoffed.
He seemed to have a chip on his shoulder for some reason. It didn't really matter to Glitch; he only needed him for his escape. He gave Duke a smirk. "Say," he said, "you feel like a dare, you and your pal?"
Duke crankily looked over his shoulder at him. "Brother," he flatly corrected him. "Nuke's my brother. We were built as a pair. I was completed first, though, so technically I'm older."
"He's your bud, too, though, right?" Glitch asked. "You got stuff in common. You both like seein' how much you can get away with around here. You do a pretty good job of that! That fire alarm thing was pretty sweet."
Duke looked down as he leaned back in his seat next to the cell.
"Feel like doin' it again? Huh?" Glitch encouraged. "I dare ya."
Duke gave an annoyed huff.
"Come oooon, you know you wanna!" Glitch continued enticing him. "Or what about your brother? Wanna get him down here?"
Duke kept his head lowered. He had a strained look in his eyes, as if he was physically struggling to resist the temptation.
"The fire alarm's right there." Glitch pointed to it. It was dead across the hall.
Duke looked up at it and blinked a couple of times. Glitch thought he had him, until he suddenly whipped around and threw him a cold look.
"What?"
"I know what you're tryin' to do!" Duke snapped.
Glitch tensed. How did he know?
Duke slumped down into his seat. "You're tryin' to be like us," he huffed while facing the front again. "You wanna run wit' us."
Glitch relaxed his shoulders. Thank goodness.
"Well it ain't happenin'!" Duke went on. "You're still a jailbot."
Glitch waved his hands and shook his head. "Ah, naw, that's fine, that's fair!" he insisted. "I just thought maybe you wanted to have a little fun! Since it gets borin' 'round here, y'know?"
Duke sighed. "Fine," he gave in.
Glitch's hopes rose.
"I just got one question."
"What's that?" Glitch cocked his head to one side, genuinely curious.
"Why are you so freaking awesome?!" Duke cried.
Glitch blinked at him, taken aback. He wasn't able to find an answer. Had this really been the cause for how the grunt had been acting?
"I'm jealous of you, ok?" Duke ranted. "Nuke and the others look up to you! They're right, you are Iron Star's Gunslinger! And it does sound cool. Like, wicked-cool."
Glitch was still at a loss for words.
Duke shamefully dropped his head. "You're so lucky," he groaned. "You're a natural-born, bonafide badass. Me?" He sadly shrugged. "I'm a screw-up. I can't even be a role model for Nuke."
Glitch found himself smiling a little. He couldn't believe his guard wanted to be like him. Duke might've seemed bad on the outside. He was hardheaded and bucked authority, of course. But those were merely the doings of a lost young Droid. Seeing someone like Glitch must have furthered his insecurities.
"You're not a screw-up, Duke."
Duke looked up at him. "I'm not? I mean, you don't think so?"
"Nah!" Glitch replied. "You're just a little rough around the edges. You're a rebel. Like me!"
Duke laughed a little.
"But here's some advice," Glitch said. "You gotta know when to be one and when not to. There's a time and a place for it. Alright?"
Duke nodded. "Yes, sir," he murmured. "Thanks." He cast his gaze to the floor. He must have been choked up and didn't want Glitch to see him getting emotional.
"You're gonna be okay, kid." He gently reassured him—and that was when he caught himself. He called Duke "kid." Oh, geez. He cringed on the inside.
"Hey, Duke."
Glitch and Duke both looked to their right. Nuke was on his way up the hall toward them. Glitch smiled as he saw him coming.
"What's up?" Duke asked.
"Nothing, just came down." Nuke leaned himself against the wall near Glitch's cell. He noticed him through the bars and his optics lit up. "What up, Gunslinger?" he exclaimed.
"Yo!" Glitch greeted him back.
"So, uh, what's the deal?" Nuke altered his gaze between Duke and Glitch. "You guys talking about something?"
"Yep, we were!" Duke smiled at Glitch when he spoke. He winked at the rebel miner, his new role model.
Glitch realized that Duke was on-board. He looked his brother's way, seeking the same approval from him. "What do you say to another night of messing around, Nuke?" he asked him.
"Yeah!" Duke's voice was sly and devious. "I dare you to go pull the fire alarm, Nuke. I did it last time, so now it's your turn."
Glitch addressed them both warmly. "Why don't you both do it together?"
Duke and Nuke stared at Glitch for a moment. Then their sights fell on one another, and they both exchanged grins. The Droid brothers dashed across the hall to the fire alarm. They both placed a hand on it, then waited for a few seconds.
"On three!" Glitch encouraged. "One, two…"
"Three!"
They all exclaimed it in unison. Duke and Nuke pulled the fire alarm together. It immediately triggered the loud siren and flashing light. Nuke scurried off to reach his post, while Duke positioned himself in front of Glitch's cell, where he was supposed to be. Shortly after, a tired voice came over the intercom: "Ugh, not again. Everyone, we have another drill. All personnel and prisoners report outside. Prisoners must be accompanied by their guards at all times. Thank you. I flipping hate this job…"
Duke unlocked Glitch's cell and opened it. Glitch walked out with him carefully, hoping his shackles wouldn't slide off. He tried not to appear too hopeful or expectant as he was escorted outside with the rest of the jailbots and their respective guards. They were placed in single-file lines behind the building. It was the exact same procedure from Tuesday's drill.
Glitch surgically analyzed his surroundings. It was already dark out; the guards were as lackadaisical as usual, more interested in discussing their plans after their shifts than watching over the bots they were supposed to be guarding. Duke was no different. Glitch saw him cutting up with Nuke and their other guard friends from before. He didn't think he would miss anyone from this place—nor did he expect to leave any sort of impact on them. He saw a lot of himself in Duke and his younger brother. There was a half of him wishing he could stick around for them.
But it was time for him to go.
Glitch discreetly placed himself at the back of his line, concealing himself. He quietly got the shackles from around his ankles, then pulled out the lighter, the bottle, the cloth, and the small tin of oil from his leak. He quickly built his makeshift bomb. Once it was ready, he exchanged a quick glance between the jail building and the dirt path leading away from it just a few feet behind him. He was going to be able to make it.
Glitch threw the homemade bomb toward the building as hard as he could. The lighter fluid on the cloth reacted with the flammable oil, setting off upon the bottle shattering. It caused a sizable fire. Glitch was utterly surprised, and frankly, a little proud of how well it turned out.
Yelling ensued from the guards when they saw the fire taking form near the front of the lines. Everyone was distracted, leaving Glitch with his chance to break free. He turned and hurried down the dirt path, away from the jailhouse. He hoped he was right in where it led.
It stretched on forever, it seemed, until finally, he came across what he'd been expecting at the end of the path. Glitch emerged from between the rocks and briefly stopped to study what was ahead of him. The trail tapered off into a vast, open clearing. He could make out the tall, metal fence enclosing the jail property on the far end.
He ran for it.
He was going to get out of here. He was going to escape, find the other gateways, and take care of Dr. Exavolt before it was too late.
"Hey, you there! Stop!"
The voice would have halted Glitch in his tracks if not for his determination. There were guards patrolling the outer perimeter. Glitch had a feeling there would be, but he'd come too far for his journey to be cut short now.
He was a little more than halfway to the fence when the two Droid guards closed in on him from his left and right. They weren't grunts; they were higher in rank—and bigger. They seemed to have been built specifically for security purposes. The mere millisecond Glitch was given to see them fully, however, revealed that they weren't armed, at least.
They were upon Glitch before he could avoid them. He was stopped instantly as one patroller tackled him through the dirt. It was like being hit and dragged by a tank. He was still coming to his senses from the blow while his tackler lifted him by one arm. The grip from the guard's hand was strong, but the pulling itself was even worse. A terrible sharp agony ran the course of Glitch's arm and up to his shoulder. He clenched his jaw to stifle a pained cry. The guard must have dislocated something.
Either way, the pain didn't keep Glitch down for long. It was quickly overthrown by his adrenaline. The first guard began the process of restraining his wrists, while the second moved on to his legs. Glitch violently lashed out with his feet. He kicked the guard in front of him directly in one of his optics, shattering it. It was enough of a distraction for both guards to allow Glitch to get free. He threw himself on the second guard and forced him to his feet. He pulled out his shiv and placed it at the guard's throat while slowly backing up in the direction of the fence. The first guard froze.
Glitch tried to get his breath back before he spoke. "I don't wanna do this," he said. "Nobody needs to get hurt."
"I understand," the first guard assured him. "Just drop the weapon, son, ok?"
"I'm innocent." Glitch's eyes were serious but pleading. "I was never supposed to be here in the first place. It's a misunderstanding, I was set up. Just let me go. Please."
The second guard, the one Glitch kicked and now had hostage, was having none of it. He elbowed the potential escapee in his side. It forced Glitch to release him as he immediately went to hold the side with an agonized grunt.
The first guard subdued Glitch to the ground for a second time. All the framed miner could do was continue lashing out with the shiv, hoping it would deter him. But it didn't. Glitch swung the shiv at random…and the guard stopped moving. Glitch opened his eyes, only to feel a rope of dread tighten around his stomach at the realization of what happened.
He'd slashed the Droid guard's throat.
It was always the weakest part of a bot's exterior, allowing for any weapon sharp enough to leave extensive damage. Sparks flew from the guard's severed voice box, until he sat up and placed a shaky hand over his wound. Glitch could see oil trickling out between his fingers. It was fatal, he already knew. It wasn't long before the guard stumbled once, then collapsed to the ground, never to move again.
The guard died in front of a terrified Glitch. He slowly sat up on the ground. The second guard was in an equal amount of shock. They both stared at each other for what felt like hours. Glitch glanced down at the shiv he was still holding. The blade was blackened by the dead guard's oil. He looked back up at the second guard and rapidly shook his head. "I-I didn't mean to," he stammered. "I didn't mean to, I swear."
The fright refused to leave the remaining guard's face.
"Don't look at me like that, dude! I didn't mean to! I didn't, I swear I didn't!" Glitch's voice brimmed with desperation.
The remaining guard snapped out of his shock long enough to yell into his radio. "We've got an escapee!" he said. "And we've got a Droid down! Send reinforcements right away!"
Glitch rose to his feet and resumed running. The last thing he could remember before blacking out was jumping the fence.
...
Morning. It was a dark one, contrary to the sun beginning its rise over Iron Star's canyons. The rocks and clay were cast under its precious golden glow. A single robo-mule roamed the horizon on its four tiny legs.
Glitch was there, somewhere. He had not the faintest clue where, nor did he care, at least not in the moment. He was too exhausted to, and the aches and pains from being tackled so viciously the night before were settling in. His right shoulder was dislocated, as he'd speculated. None of it mattered to him. It meant nothing when compared to everything else. His life felt like it was over. And he had one robot to thank for it: Exavolt. It was thanks to Dr. Exavolt that Glitch destroyed the Morbot gateway. It was thanks to Dr. Exavolt that he'd been jailed. It was thanks to Dr. Exavolt that a Droid died at his hand. In a short amount of time, Glitch had become an accomplice, a murderer, and a fugitive.
He wasn't sure how long he walked. An ample amount of time passed before the canyons he trudged through leveled off into barren, dusty desert. The sun continued rising over him along his slow and painful trek. He travelled for hours. Miles. With nothing but grease and bruises to remind him of his failures. The sun soon sat high in the afternoon sky. It seared Glitch's yellow, scratched metal, assaulting him with over 105 degrees of heat.
He was almost too weak to keep moving now. It was a struggle just to place one foot in front of the other. He was on the verge of collapsing when he saw a robo-mule walking along nearby. It was a sentient walking crate used for carrying materials. It most likely strayed from the mines. Glitch watched it for a moment. It was joined by another, then a third. There was an entire small herd of them. Some of them weren't carrying anything.
Glitch was riding in one before long. The robo-mule didn't even seem to mind or notice him as it travelled the desert with its group. It was a funny sight in a way, a half-ton Droid being hauled along by a crate with legs. Maybe Glitch would've thought so if not for his current condition. He rested his throbbing head on the edge of the crate, allowing it to carry him. Its soft, steady rocking helped soothe his aching exterior and overworked hardware. He was eventually rocked to sleep.
Glitch woke up on the ground around dusk. He bolted upright and looked over at the robo-mule he rode in. It was lying on its side, resting after its long journey. Glitch realized he was surrounded by several of the mules, even more than before. They were all lying in the dirt; many of them were huddled together. Glitch had no idea they were so group-oriented. He would see them strewn throughout the mines from time to time, usually on their own. He rose to his feet and decided to keep moving. The mules had stopped to rest under a large, rocky outcrop. Glitch leaned himself against it slightly while walking forward, still battling his body aches. He wondered how far he was from Droid Town, or any sort of civilization, for that matter. Iron Star society was decimated, but there was still a respectable number of developed territories across the surface. He couldn't be too far from one, surely. He had to find a place to rejuvenate and clear his head. It would be dark again soon, and the temperature was already dropping at a rapid pace. Glitch pushed himself to keep searching for shelter. The outcrops were lightly decorated with divots and holes at varying levels, but nothing big enough for Glitch to get into.
He finally found one higher up. It wasn't too far off the ground. Glitch figured he had enough strength to climb up and reach it. It took him a little while, as by the time he managed to throw his body up and over the ledge, the twilight was fading. The opening was just smaller than an animal den. It was going to be a bit cramped, but Glitch was okay with that. He inched himself inside as far as it went and got comfortable. He had a view of the nearly-set sun. The sky grew darker with each passing minute as the great, yellow disc departed behind the horizon. Glitch never appreciated a sunset until now. He watched it while lying on his side, hoping the entire time it wouldn't be his last.
...
He was awoken by strange sounds. Glitch quickly scanned the inside of the rock opening. It was barely large enough for him to fit inside. Nothing else could be in there with him, could it?
He heard the sounds again. It was laughter—sinister laughter, from farther away. Glitch inched to the front of the opening and peered over the ledge to the ground below. He didn't see anyone. There was, however, a pair of robo-mules scuttling across the clearing. Something had frightened them.
He weighed his options. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to stay there. If he did, he could be found by whoever or whatever was closing in on the area. He wasn't in the best shape for fighting back, either. He decided it was time to go.
Glitch carefully slid down to the bottom of the rock face. It was nightfall now, and while he could use the dark to his advantage in keeping out of sight, there was no telling what could be lurking in the shadows. He determinedly pressed forward, keeping to the rocks.
The evil laughter started up again. Glitch frantically looked all over, wondering where it could be coming from. It seemed to come from everywhere at once. It echoed off the canyons. Glitch feared it would drive him insane. He made one final turn…
…and that's when it happened.
BOOM!
Glitch screamed out from the explosive pain of the powerful blast. He could see his own parts shattering and flying from the sheer force of the weapon's caliber. It threw him flat on his back, where he lay in pieces. His vision clouded with static, and the world violently spun. His oil was splattered along the rocks nearby. He fought to stay conscious and see forward. A group of bots came and stood over his partially destroyed body. Three of them were Mil grunts. They were silver, armed with Toasters. They planned to use the flamethrowers to burn the remains. Joining them was Vlax, recognizable by his unique purple exterior. His newly enhanced Rocket Launcher was still smoking from the clean shot. They were lastly joined by two other familiar faces: Vex and Epsilon. The former commander's cigar smoke wafted overhead into the cold desert night air. Glitch could only barely hear the words they exchanged.
"You're a good shot, son," Epsilon said to Vlax. "I couldn't even get off a hit like that in my heyday."
"Why, thank you!" Vlax chuckled, the compliment further inflating his ego.
"I thought we was supposed to bring 'em to Exavolt alive!" Vex snapped.
"He didn't say to, did he?" Vlax retorted. "He simply told us to take care of the problem. So that is what we are doing."
Vex's green optic locked onto Glitch's face. He was regretful at first, seeing what they did to his former friend. He quickly shrugged off the guilt, though, and returned to the task. "So what now?" he questioned.
"One more thing." Epsilon suddenly got closer to Glitch's body. He was still sporting only one arm. With that arm, he drew his own weapon, a gun designed similarly to a revolver. Glitch saw the ex-commander point it directly at him, aiming for his head. The young rebel wanted to beg for his life, but he couldn't.
Alloy trusted you.
It was the last thought Glitch had before a single bullet shattered his headlight upon entry. Epsilon drew his gun back and smiled. "Nothing like a good old-fashioned double-tap, huh?" he chuckled.
Vlax joined him in laughter. Vex said nothing.
"Light 'em up." Epsilon gave the order to the three silver Mil grunts. "Make sure you leave enough to bring back to the Doctor, at least." He chuckled, half-joking. He, Vex, and Vlax backed up to give them room. The grunts got their Toasters ready for the assignment.
"Wait. What's happening?" Vlax asked suddenly.
Although Glitch's audio was fading, he could still make out the sounds of gunfire, specifically, laser beams. He heard a few of them ricochet off the surrounding rocks. It was an ambush of some kind, but from who was unclear. Glitch's attackers were forced to fall back. They fled, leaving his smoldering remains behind.
End of Part 1
To Be Continued